10/24/11 - Added HC
I was going to dry start the HC but after two days, I grew impatient and filled the tank and cranked up the CO2! I also removed the actinic bulb and replaced it with a 6,700K bulb. The light is now running 10,000K and 6,700K bulbs.

11/5/11 - Added Seiryu Stones
In the process of adding the stones, I kicked up a bunch of the HC, which wasn't quite rooted yet. Spent like a year planting them back in the substrate! The water also became cloudy for a day or two due to the new additions.

11/21-23/11 - Added Shrimps
Also added Downoi and some Eriocaulon Cinereums just for kicks. There's also some Dwarf Riccia Fluitans in there, supposedly. The person who sold it to me claims it's Dwarf but I'm not entirely convinced. I am no longer running CO2 in this tank due to having expensive shrimps. All plants are growing just fine, however.

1/7/12 - Added Tangerine Tigers & Orange Eye Blue Tigers
It was hard to capture the OEBTs so I'll have to try again another day.
Here's a PFR with a OEBT photobombing from the bush:
Found a pregnant CRS:
Red eggs?

1/10/12 - RIP
Came home to this tonight: Starting to really consider dropping the water level down a little or getting a lid.

Dinner time:
That's a Erio "Mini" in case you're wondering. Not entirely sure it's the accurate name but it's the best I've got at this point.

2/8/2012 - Shrimpocolypse?
Randomly lost 6 shrimps last night. Unsure of what's going on but I tested the water parameters and everything was more or less within the acceptable range. A little puzzled.

*2/12/12 - Tank is currently in detox mode.*Due to the recent crash in the tank, I am going to remove most, if not all, shrimps and detox this tank. In the past two weeks, I've lost more than 70% of the shrimps in this tank and really don't care to lose any more. I've relocated all the survivors to the breeder tanks. I'm hoping to get some K-14s and black tigers in this thing once everything settles down.

In the meantime, I'm doing monster water changes daily with pure RO and will dose the hell out of this thing. I might up-root all the HC and replant them. This is gonna mucho sucko.

2/13/12 - RO/DI System
New toy arrived this afternoon. Not sure what to do with all this mess yet but I hope it's not too painful to put together. 300 GPD FTW.

Bonus:
New crypts from Xue and Nick. Plants look great. Thanks, guys!

2/15/12 UpdateI was able to install the RO/DI unit without much trouble (was quite easy actually). I was able to make 5 gallons of RO/DI water in about 30 minutes with less than a 1:1 waste ratio! As you can see from the below image, the left jug is the RO water and the right jug is the waste water. Something MUST be wrong with this. I was under the assumption that the waste ratio is usually 2:1.

Anyone wanna chime in with your experience with these systems?

2/16/12 - Rescape
I decided that it was a good time to do a minor rescape of the tank since most of the shrimps have been relocated. The HC was getting out of hand so I uprooted a large amount and replanted them elsewhere. The right side of the tank will be uprooted tonight and replanted. There's a chance I may get lazy and just mow it down instead.

Bonus
The C. Bullosa acquired on 2/13/12 has sprouted a new leaf! It's the leaf on the right, in focus. Only Crypt collectors will understand the excitement of this as C. Bullosas are notoriously slow growers. ROI = 25%!

2/29/12 - Part 2, Red Rili Shrimps
Eh, why not..? More pics!

3/5/12 - Bucephalandra
Finally jumped on the Buce train. I didn't understand why these little suckers were so expensive and popular so I had to get a few to see what the fuss was about. I have to admit, I'm genuinely surprised how pretty they look in person. Here's to hoping they don't completely destroy my wallet..

Buce. "Sekadau 2"

A closer view

Crypt. Bullosa "Bario"
Added a new C. Bullosa from Bario to the collection. The new leaf on this has a really nice red tint to it.

Rotala Macrandra

Berried Red Rili

3/6/12 - More Buce
And the rest of them..

Buce. "Silver Powder"

Semi-FTS

Berried Red Rili

3/19/12 - Shrimp Explosion
I haven't updated this journal in a little bit but here's what's happening in my neighborhood..

PFR population exploded
They're still juveniles/young adults but the color is getting really nice.

Young SSS CRS
These are from my breeder tanks.

I think it's safe to assume that whatever went through and wiped out my population is no longer present. With that said, this tank is no longer in detox mode. I will slowly add back the more expensive stock. I might end up selling off some stock to fund a new motorcycle helmet. It's riding season!

Black King Kong
Terrible picture, I know. I'll grab a better one when I can get the little dude to stay still for more than a millisecond.

Familiar Faces
Some old timers in the mix..

The CRS from above is hanging out on some Rose Moss I acquired from Jimko. Very legit seller.

3/26/12 - SSS CRS
Just an update on my CRS population. There's a BKK in there in case you were wondering.

3/31/12 - New Scape!

I got a a little bored with the old layout so I just decided to redo the tank. I replaced all the substrate with some new ADA Amazonia (Multi-type). As you can see, there's still traces of the old scape, but I've added some Manzanita to the equation.

I replanted the HC on the right side so it'll take a few weeks to grow in. I'm not 100% satisfied with the layout of the Seiryu stones at the moment, so I might still tweak it a little. The left side of the tank now has a Eriocaulon Sieboldianum by the trunk of the Manzanita branch. That thing is huge. Also got some stems of Ludwigia inclinata "Red" behind the branch. I trimmed the stems down quite a bit to let them grow out. There are currently no shrimps in this tank. I'll add them back in when it's cycled.

So, without further ado, presenting:

"Escape"

4/4/12 - Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Pantanal'
Added a few stems of L. Pantanal and a few crypts (Hudoroi & Kota Tingii) to the tank. Really liking the Pantanal. This may be one of my favorite stems thus far. You can see it on the left side of the tank, behind the Manzanita branch and to the right of the Ludwigia inclinata 'Red'.

I added an inch or two of Aqua Soil to that section to raise the stems up a little. I may use that section for rare crypts later on if I decide to remove the plants. I figured crypts would appreciate the extra depth of substrate. Just planning ahead.

Tonight's FTS:

4/5/12 - More L. Pantanal

This is how I keep the stones clean.
I use an old electric toothbrush and just go to town on it. Fairly painless and much easier than trying to take them out. You may also notice the glass dish on the left side of the stone. If you're having a hard time keeping your newly planted HC rooted to the substrate, just put one of those down for a day or two and it should do the trick. BeforeDuringSo fresh and so clean, clean.

4/9/12 - Another RescapeI wasn't satisfied with the right side of the tank, so I've decided to redo it. I removed all the stones and in place of it, added one large one. I was trying to create a ridge, or cliff (wall) look. I'm still not all that satisfied with the outcome, so I may still tweak it if I can find the right stones. I eventually want to build a wall to have a very distinct elevation on the right, then maybe have some more wood hang over it. If I can't find any nice driftwood pieces, then I might settle for a plant that'll creep, like Ludwigia cf. Suffruticosa. Or maybe I'll try guiding whatever plants I have into hanging over the "wall." I currently have about 4.5" of substrate on this side of the tank.

The middle section now has been filled with more HC. It's once again a nightmare planting that stuff but it's well worth the hassle once everything grows in. Overall, I'm much more satisfied with how the tank looks now. The transition from the left to the right side seems to work better.

Sorry for all the soda pop bubbles in the tank--my CO2 was running and I had just finished a water change.

Relocated the crypts. C. Kota Tinggi is now in front against Xue's recommendations. It just looks too nice to be hidden in the back. Maybe it'll be relocated if it ever gets too big or out of control. Behind the C. Kota Tinggi is a C. Hudoroi. You can't see it in these photos, but between the two C. Hudoroi is a Erio. Matto Grosso. I didn't want to have it there but it had such an extensive root system that there was nowhere else to I could have placed it. I'll likely relocate it once it picks up. It was heavily pruned and is a little fragile at the moment.

Ludwigia inclinata var. "Pantanal"

4/9/12 - Epic Picture Time
Got some new plants in today, so I decided to take a few pictures. Then I took a few more. Then things started spinning out of control and I forgot why I was taking pictures to begin with, so I took a couple more just for good measure. Oops.

C. Kota Tinggi. Most likely a new leaf coming up, but that'd be awesome if it was a spathe. I'll keep an eye on it and will update accordingly.

New plants (C. Uenoi, C. Keei, and a relocated C. Hudoroi). Thanks, Xue! The C. Hudoroi is sprouting up a new leaf, in the middle.

And this is when things got out of hand.

Along comes a king..

My Fluval Edge tank

Shrimps are eating this in all of the above photos. Om nom nom indeed. This stuff must be laced with crack and infused with meth. The shrimps were literally fighting over it. It didn't help that I only placed one piece in for 19287318273987 shrimps. Thanks for the food, Jake!

I have the 100L macro, and you are getting comparable shots with your setup. I would just think of adding a Canon EF 25II Extension tube just to get a bit more magnification.

I'm thinking about getting the 100MM f/2.8L but I'm not sure I'm a huge macro guy. Might just grab the regular 100MM for 1/3 of the price. The extension tube will cut out too much light for the 17-40MM, so I don't think I'll go that route. Thanks for the input though!

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the The Planted Tank Forum forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.